Let me first explain the column headings — Page 169, Lesson 146

I want to walk you through a set of navigation practice questions and their answers. This is a table-based exercise where you're given some known values from a flight, and you have to work out the missing ones using the triangle of velocities. Let me first explain the column headings. HDG°(T) is the heading in degrees true — that's the direction the aircraft's nose is pointing, measured clockwise from true north. W/V is the wind velocity, given as a direction in degrees true and a speed in knots — for example, 155/30 means the wind is coming from 155° true at 30 knots. TRACK MADE GOOD °(T) is the actual path the aircraft has traced over the ground, also in degrees true. TAS is true airspeed in knots, and GS is groundspeed in knots. On page 163, you have the questions. Each row gives you some of these five values, and you're expected to calculate the missing ones. For instance, the first row gives you HDG 056°, TAS 287 knots, and GS 320 knots, but the W/V and track made good are blank. You'd use your navigation computer or a plotting method to find the wind velocity and the actual track. Now look at the answers starting on page 164. The first answer row matches that first question: HDG 056°, W/V 227/32, track made good 055°, TAS 287, GS 320. So the wind is from 227° true at 32 knots, and the aircraft's actual path over the ground is 055° true, very close to the heading. Let me walk through a few more so you see the pattern. The second question row on page 163: HDG 055°, TAS 480, GS 530. The answer on page 164 gives W/V 298/50, track made good 109°, TAS 480, GS 530. So with that wind, the aircraft is being pushed slightly off its heading. Third question: HDG 176°, TAS 428, GS 438. Answer: W/V 277/40, track made good 171°. Notice the track is 5 degrees left of the heading — that's drift from the wind. Fourth: HDG 270°, TAS 335, GS 308. Answer: W/V 312/40, track made good 265°. Here the wind is from 312° at 40 knots, causing the aircraft to drift left of its heading. I want to highlight one row that shows a very strong wind. Look at the row on page 163 with HDG 311°, TAS 482, GS 435. The answer on page 165 gives W/V 011/135. That's a wind from 011° true at 135 knots — extremely strong, and it's reducing the groundspeed well below the true airspeed. Another interesting one: HDG 228°, TAS 460, GS 505. Answer: W/V 130/148. That's a 148-knot wind from 130° true, and it's actually increasing the groundspeed above the true airspeed — a tailwind component. The last row on page 163: HDG 175°, TAS 121, GS 114. Answer: W/V 233/16, track made good 168°. A light wind, only 16 knots, causing a small drift. What you're seeing here is the complete triangle of velocities in action. Every row represents a real navigation scenario where you know some combination of heading, wind, track, true airspeed, and groundspeed, and you solve for the unknowns. The answers give you the full set so you can check your work. These are the book's practice questions — let's try them one at a time.